Vac pay

[HCHC]

Hi Ladies, I'm a stay at home momma of 2, trying to start up my home daycare. I'm writing up a contract and This may be a dumb questions, but can someone please tell me how does the vacation pay work? And what is reasonable to expect?
1)For example, if i take 10 days/year, so for those paid 10 days, am i responsible for finding alternate care for the children?
2)Do i get paid a percentage of my daily rate for each of those 10 days?
Thanks in advance!

[BlueRose]

when you write your contract make a police that states that you get 10 paid vacation days per year and that the parents are reasonable to find alternate care.

The following is my policy:

Caregiver's Vacation, Sick/Personal days
Caregivers Vacation:
2 weeks (10 days) paid, each calender year. Parents are given at least 4 weeks notice. It is the parents responsibility to find back up care.

Caregivers Sick/Personal days:
10 paid Sick day each calendar year. I will give as much notice as possible. It is the parents responsibility to find back up care. Please note that illness of myself or my children can come on suddenly, leaving very little notice, if any. If I or my children have a simple cold the daycare will remain open. You have the right not to bring your child for that day(s).
10 paid Personal days each calender year. I will give as much notice as possible.
For both sick and personal days, if any are left over at the end of each calender year, they will not be transferred to the next year.

Paid Holidays
Stat and Non-Stat Paid Holidays
New Years Day, Family Day, Good Friday, Easter Monday, Victoria Day, Canada Day, Civic Holiday, Labour Day, Thanksgiving Monday, Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, Boxing Day, and New Years Eve.

I am closed on these Holidays.
All of these holidays are paid. If the holiday falls on a Saturday or Sunday I can either take the Friday before or the Monday after off.

I hope this helps

[jammiesandtea]

BlueRose, are you saying your contract provides for 2 weeks (10 days) vacation, plus 10 sick days, plus 10 personal days, all paid by the client? That is the equivalent of 6 weeks per year... I would think a lot of parents would balk at signing up for that. Do you have any trouble filling spots, or are you full?

[BlueRose]

BlueRose, are you saying your contract provides for 2 weeks (10 days) vacation, plus 10 sick days, plus 10 personal days, all paid by the client? That is the equivalent of 6 weeks per year... I would think a lot of parents would balk at signing up for that. Do you have any trouble filling spots, or are you full?

Yep that is what I am saying. But I tell parents that just because I get 10 sick and 10 personal days doesn't mean I am going to use them. So far I have only used 2 personal days (appointments that I could not do on a Saturday) and 0 sick days for this year. I try not to use
them if I don't have too. When my boys are older I will be reducing the numbers down to 5 days each.

I do make sure I take my 2 week vacation.

I know of providers who take 4 or 5 weeks paid vacation plus paid sick/personal days (in other areas).

Right know I leave in a area where it is very hard to find private clients. All the other providers that I talk in the area have the same problem finding private clients, we are all with agencies.

and yes as of June I am full.

[Momof4]

I don't get paid for my closed vacation days, but I am paid full fees for the other weeks all year, including all stats listed as closed days in my contract or any sick or missed days the families use. It's simple that way. I budget for my non paid vacation weeks.

I choose my vacation weeks for the next year every Dec. and give the families a letter so they can all book their vacations when I'm closed or make arrangements for their children. My clients love this system. There's no way I would be responsible for finding alternate care for 5 families, that's their responsibility. As long as you give them lots of notice of your closed days and it's in black and white they shouldn't have any complaints.

I have 3 personal paid days written into my contract as well in case I need a sick day or a day for appointments but I rarely use them. It's my opinion that if you want a good reputation and great references you should be very reliable.

[sunnydays]

I take 10 paid vacation days and 7 paid personal days. Like Momof4, I decide on all my vacation days (I also take a week unpaid) in December and give it to parents at contract renewal time (January). That makes it easy for them to plan ahead. I would never be responsible for arranging back-up care for the parents. I tell them right in the interview that they must have their own plan for my vacations or days I might be sick and have to close the daycare. They either need to have enough leeway with their work or have an alternate caregiver (grandparent, etc). I strive to be reliable and don't close when I don't have to, but I am human and I do get sick sometimes and I think it is quite reasonable that we be able to rest when we are sick. Last week I had strep throat and had to close for 3 days. It was awful and I felt guilty, but it was beyond my control as I had a fever and could barely get out of my bed...plus it was very contagious. I caught it from my daycare families in the first place, so they were all quite understanding.

[HCHC]

Thanks everyone that replied!